Andrew Driver
Encyclopedia
Andrew David Driver is a professional footballer who plays for Scottish Premier League
team Hearts
as a left winger. He has represented Scotland at schoolboy level and England, where he was born, for the under-21 side
.
, Oldham
, Greater Manchester
, but moved to Gullane
, East Lothian
at the age of eleven. He began playing for Hutchison Vale AFC, from where he joined the Hearts youth academy.
He first made his mark on Hearts' first team during a pre-season tour of Austria
in 2006, where he started all three friendlies, creating four goals in the process with his direct play and crossing ability. In August 2006 Driver signed a five-year extension to his contract with Hearts, committing him to the club until 2011. He made his home debut in the league on 26 August 2006 against Inverness Caledonian Thistle
, coming on as a substitute with 15 minutes to go and scoring four minutes later. Driver also scored a free kick in a 3–1 victory over Celtic
at Celtic Park
on 29 April 2007. In July 2008 Driver signed an amended contract with the club for another five years committing himself to the club until 2013.
Driver was the subject of two bids totalling £
500,000 from Championship
club Burnley
in the summer of 2008, which was rejected by Hearts. Coventry City
too made a £1 million bid in the 2009 January transfer window, which was also rejected. On 6 July, the BBC reported that Burnley had opened signing talks with Hearts. Joop Munsterman the FC Twente
CEO reported on RVT Oost that Hearts had turned down a £3m offer for Driver. In all five clubs enquired about his availability including Chelsea
.
Since the Summer of 2010 Driver's appearances were limited due to injury. A bad knee injury needed surgery and was followed by a thigh injury suffered during a bounce match to regain fitness. In May 2011 he had to undergo a further knee operation.
In his first appearance on his return from Injury Driver made his European debut against Paks
in the Europa League scoring the third goal in their 4-1 win. Despite being fit Driver only appeared in seven of the first 20 competitive appearances under new manager Paulo Sergio and a loan deal was considered.
England U21 manager Stuart Pearce
called the uncapped Driver up for the 2009 European Championships
. He made his debut and only appearance at the tournament in the 1–1 draw against Germany
on 22 June 2009 during the group stages.
He was thought to be eligible to play for the Scotland senior team because of the new residency ruling recently introduced. He was not called up by then-manager George Burley
as Burley stated that it was Driver's choice to officially make himself available for selection. On 4 February 2010, Driver committed his international future to Scotland after face-to-face talks with Scotland manager Craig Levein
. Only one week after opting to represent Scotland, the Scottish FA informed Driver he was not eligible to play for the national team, as he had not been schooled in Scotland for the requisite period of time. This rule was subsequently altered to allow Driver to play for Scotland, although he is yet to do so.
Scottish Premier League
The Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...
team Hearts
Heart of Midlothian F.C.
Heart of Midlothian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Gorgie, in the west of Edinburgh. They currently play in the Scottish Premier League and are one of the two principal clubs in the city, the other being Hibernian...
as a left winger. He has represented Scotland at schoolboy level and England, where he was born, for the under-21 side
England national under-21 football team
England's national Under-21 football team, also known as England Under-21s or England U21, is considered to be the feeder team for the England national football team....
.
Hearts
Driver was born in SaddleworthSaddleworth
Saddleworth is a civil parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham in Greater Manchester, England. It comprises several villages and hamlets amongst the west side of the Pennine hills: Uppermill, Greenfield, Dobcross, Delph, Diggle and others...
, Oldham
Oldham
Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amid the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers Irk and Medlock, south-southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of the city of Manchester...
, Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
, but moved to Gullane
Gullane
Gullane is a town on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth in East Lothian on the east coast of Scotland. There has been a church in the village since the 9th century. The ruins of the Old Church of St...
, East Lothian
East Lothian
East Lothian is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy Area. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Scottish Borders and Midlothian. Its administrative centre is Haddington, although its largest town is Musselburgh....
at the age of eleven. He began playing for Hutchison Vale AFC, from where he joined the Hearts youth academy.
He first made his mark on Hearts' first team during a pre-season tour of Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
in 2006, where he started all three friendlies, creating four goals in the process with his direct play and crossing ability. In August 2006 Driver signed a five-year extension to his contract with Hearts, committing him to the club until 2011. He made his home debut in the league on 26 August 2006 against Inverness Caledonian Thistle
Inverness Caledonian Thistle F.C.
Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club are a Scottish football club from Inverness who compete in the Scottish Premier League. They are currently managed by Terry Butcher and assistant manager Maurice Malpas...
, coming on as a substitute with 15 minutes to go and scoring four minutes later. Driver also scored a free kick in a 3–1 victory over Celtic
Celtic F.C.
Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...
at Celtic Park
Celtic Park
Celtic Park is a football stadium in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which is the home ground of Celtic FC. Celtic Park, an all-seater stadium with a capacity of 60,832, is the largest football stadium in Scotland and the sixth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom, after Murrayfield, Old Trafford,...
on 29 April 2007. In July 2008 Driver signed an amended contract with the club for another five years committing himself to the club until 2013.
Driver was the subject of two bids totalling £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
500,000 from Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
club Burnley
Burnley F.C.
Burnley Football Club are a professional English Football League club based in Burnley, Lancashire. Nicknamed the Clarets, due to the dominant colour of their home shirts, they were founder members of the Football League in 1888...
in the summer of 2008, which was rejected by Hearts. Coventry City
Coventry City F.C.
Coventry City Football Club, otherwise known as the Sky Blues owing to the traditional colour of their strip, are a professional English Football league club based in Coventry...
too made a £1 million bid in the 2009 January transfer window, which was also rejected. On 6 July, the BBC reported that Burnley had opened signing talks with Hearts. Joop Munsterman the FC Twente
FC Twente
FC Twente is a Dutch professional football club from the city of Enschede, playing in the Eredivisie. The club was formed in 1965 by the merger of 1926 Eredivisie Champions, Sportclub Enschede and Enschedese Boys...
CEO reported on RVT Oost that Hearts had turned down a £3m offer for Driver. In all five clubs enquired about his availability including Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
.
Since the Summer of 2010 Driver's appearances were limited due to injury. A bad knee injury needed surgery and was followed by a thigh injury suffered during a bounce match to regain fitness. In May 2011 he had to undergo a further knee operation.
In his first appearance on his return from Injury Driver made his European debut against Paks
Paksi SE
Paksi SE is a Hungarian football club based in Paks. Since its founding in 1952 it has played at either a county or national level. In 2006 it ascended to Borsodi Liga, or NB I, the top division in Hungarian football, for the first time. It plays its home games at Stadion PSE. The team colors...
in the Europa League scoring the third goal in their 4-1 win. Despite being fit Driver only appeared in seven of the first 20 competitive appearances under new manager Paulo Sergio and a loan deal was considered.
International career
Driver was previously a Scotland schoolboy international, scoring a goal in a 2–1 Victory Shield defeat by England on 22 November 2002.England U21 manager Stuart Pearce
Stuart Pearce
Stuart Pearce OBE is an English football manager and former player. He is currently the manager of the England national under-21 team and the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Olympic football team...
called the uncapped Driver up for the 2009 European Championships
2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship
The 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship began on 15 June 2009, and was the 17th UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship. This was the first tournament after the competition reverted to a two-year format, following the single-year 2006-07 competition, which allowed the change to...
. He made his debut and only appearance at the tournament in the 1–1 draw against Germany
Germany national under-21 football team
The Germany national under-21 football team represents the under-21s of Germany in the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship and is controlled by the German Football Association , the governing body of football in Germany....
on 22 June 2009 during the group stages.
He was thought to be eligible to play for the Scotland senior team because of the new residency ruling recently introduced. He was not called up by then-manager George Burley
George Burley
George Elder Burley is a Scottish football manager and former player and manager, formerly the manager of Crystal Palace Football Club. Burley had a professional career spanning 21 years as a player making 628 appearances and earning 11 Scotland caps...
as Burley stated that it was Driver's choice to officially make himself available for selection. On 4 February 2010, Driver committed his international future to Scotland after face-to-face talks with Scotland manager Craig Levein
Craig Levein
Craig William Levein is a Scottish former professional footballer and manager of the Scotland national team. During his playing career he played for Cowdenbeath and Heart of Midlothian...
. Only one week after opting to represent Scotland, the Scottish FA informed Driver he was not eligible to play for the national team, as he had not been schooled in Scotland for the requisite period of time. This rule was subsequently altered to allow Driver to play for Scotland, although he is yet to do so.
Career Statistics
| Club | Season | League | Scottish Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | ||
| Hearts Heart of Midlothian F.C. Heart of Midlothian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Gorgie, in the west of Edinburgh. They currently play in the Scottish Premier League and are one of the two principal clubs in the city, the other being Hibernian... |
2006-07 season | 20 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 3 |
| Hearts Heart of Midlothian F.C. Heart of Midlothian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Gorgie, in the west of Edinburgh. They currently play in the Scottish Premier League and are one of the two principal clubs in the city, the other being Hibernian... |
2007-08 season | 25 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 5 |
| Hearts Heart of Midlothian F.C. Heart of Midlothian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Gorgie, in the west of Edinburgh. They currently play in the Scottish Premier League and are one of the two principal clubs in the city, the other being Hibernian... |
2008-09 season | 29 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 5 |
| Hearts Heart of Midlothian F.C. Heart of Midlothian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Gorgie, in the west of Edinburgh. They currently play in the Scottish Premier League and are one of the two principal clubs in the city, the other being Hibernian... |
2009-10 season | 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 3 |
| Hearts Heart of Midlothian F.C. Heart of Midlothian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Gorgie, in the west of Edinburgh. They currently play in the Scottish Premier League and are one of the two principal clubs in the city, the other being Hibernian... |
2010-11 season 2010–11 Heart of Midlothian F.C. season The 2010–11 season is the 114th season of competitive football by Heart of Midlothian. It is the 13th consecutive season of play in the Scottish Premier League in which Hearts have competed since its inauguration in 1998–99... |
14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 |
| Hearts Heart of Midlothian F.C. Heart of Midlothian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Gorgie, in the west of Edinburgh. They currently play in the Scottish Premier League and are one of the two principal clubs in the city, the other being Hibernian... |
2011-12 season 2011–12 Heart of Midlothian F.C. season The 2011–12 season is the 115th season of competitive football by Heart of Midlothian. It is the 13th consecutive season of play in the Scottish Premier League in which Hearts have competed since its inauguration in 1998–99... |
4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 1 |
| Total | 104 | 16 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 117 | 17 | |
Personal awards and achievements
- Scottish Premier LeagueScottish Premier LeagueThe Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...
Young Player of the Month: September 2007
External links
- Transfermarkt Profile
- Andrew Driver profile at the Hearts website